thats Frank in the East stand by himself then

You`ll fall out with him Fred.........

This my take on the events of yesterday and thoughts on segregation


Just a guess as I said , I was stood behind the sticks so canot be 100 % , Usually harmless , although still stuck in the 80 ,s to a degree

Racism isn't something we have had to any great degree no matter what VM says , hopefully just a one off due to the bank holiday

As for fans not being segregated , I'm ok with it although I would prefer them to be grouped together as they tend to support their clubs better , and that makes for a better atmosphere , the problem comes from 2 things though

1 When the whistle goes as far as I am concerned all hostilities end , just as it does on the pitch , some unfortunatley cannot switch off [ this applies to some fans of all clubs

2 There are 2 types of vocal support , positive , ie trying to inspire your team , [Come on Leythers/Fax /Rovers , we love you leythers /Fax /Rovers , and negative , where you are insulting the opposition support , [ Sheep sh******, wan** Lancashire

When you get large numbers of both fans in one stand the negative stuff can inflame the atmosphere , especially if the match is a little tasty as well , separate the fans by 100 yards of grass and you have less chance of people getting upset by the negative stuff

Either way there is no place for racism , and hopefully the point will be made , but once again there are difficulties in playing in a stadium you dont own/run , at HP the club were in charge of the stewarding and could be a bit more shall we say flexible/forceful in dealing with this type of stuff , as you yourselves know , getting a council to do any sort of difficult job is pretty much impossible

I do hope those that have said they will never return to the LSV think again , it would be a shame if these few people were to spoil your enjoyment of sport you follow and your team who really do deserve all the support [ and more they get for playing some excellent RL

Hopefully see you all again at some time during the season

Very well put Mr Starbug.

Just want to add that terracing in stadiums do tend to add to the atmosphere in a positive way, but the negative side is people are less inhibitive than when in a seated area, and sometimes fueled by a bit of drink.
Starts off harmless and then......

Don`t know whether being in a seated position is a condition of less inhibitive actions...........Folks in cars seem to disprove that theory...

True - but the idiots in the cars are usually on their own. Question - I saw a bloke who had got out of his car at the lights in Atherton to tell the driver in front of him that "He was a effing @rsehole" - which one is the @rsehole there really ?

Made me laugh at the time anyway.
The point is (normal people anyway) people are more self conscious when sat down, than when stood up.

Not necessarily so( was n`t that a line from a communards song )

Maybe both????????

You`ll have to define "normal people".......

Don't get me wrong, I like the vast majority didn't witness anything wrong on sunday (with the exception of the result).
The fact someone in the ground experienced a problem says we(fans/club/stadium managment) act on it.

The obvious is a ban, the next obvious is to reduce the risk.

Unfortunatly in 2010 a lot of UK people cannot keep a check on there emotions for very long, throw in the mixture of alchohol and I can honestly say despite it being honurable and something thats gone on in History is it really worth the risks these days , especially when one of the advantages give us a much more balanced atmosphere enhancing the matchday experience not detracting from it.

if you find yourself in with the opposition fans in football, and you shout for your team you will most probably get turfed out even tho you have paid top dollar to get in. Do we really want to get like that?
How do you stop away fans mixing anyway - membership cards like football? Does the tribal element come into it when the scummy 3 becomes more, and wearing your colours suddenly becomes I better not today while X team is in town.

Brilliant point, my brother is a bolton fan and when he goes to away games he has to wear a big jacket even when it is hot to cover up his bolton shirt until he's in the actual ground. He's learned from past experience that just wearing his shirt outside some grounds is enough to start trouble from other fans.

The friendly banter between fans is one of the greatest things about our sport and we need to do everything we can to stop these sorts of problems from creeping into RL!

It doesn't have to be '200 stewards stood between you' segregation, but 'advised segregation' where there is a recognised spot for away fans - we already have this at Widnes where the majority go behind the sticks but plenty go along the side, while there is effectively self-segregation at the grounds where you can switch ends.